The Deque Blog

Deque Employee Profile: Barry Johnson

By Caitlin Cashin on February 21, 2013

What do you do at Deque and how long have you been here?

I started at Deque in June of 2011. As of July 2011 I have been the embedded Accessibility Expert at the US Department of Education where I help the department comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

How did you find Deque (or how did Deque find you)?

Since I have worked in the Accessibility field for over 12 years, I had heard bits and pieces about Deque for a few years. I finally got a chance to meet the Deque gang at CSUN one year and was offered a chance to join the team in 2011.

What is your favorite thing about working at Deque?

The fact that we are making a difference across not just the US Government, but a wide variety of industries too. And it is nice to work for a company were I don't have to worry about not having a job if a contract ends - always a fear for a government contractor.

What interests you about accessibility?

After 20 years as a developer/programmer I am very interested in how easy it can be to make programs/web apps accessible; if we as accessibility professionals can break down the resistance of other developers.

What current topic/debate in accessibility that has caught your eye?

Two things really - as a specialist in US Government accessibility I am very interested in the upcoming 508 Refresh and how this will effect the processes and procedures of the accessibility experts in the Government Space. I am also very interested in the recent development of the acceptance of WCAG 2.0 as an ISO Standard and what this is going to mean to Accessibility Professionals and our professional growth and development.

Desert Island Picks:

One album (music), one movie, one book, andone luxury item (assume you have food, water, shelter, and a radio - no boats/planes/etc. )

Caitlin is an "Accessibility Decoder" at Deque Systems. She joined the team back in 2011 and has taken on a variety of roles over the years. These days she spends her time exploring the best ways to communicate accessibility ideas and solutions to the general public.

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Digital equality. It's our mission, our vision, and our passion. We believe that websites, mobile applications, and digital content should be accessible to people with disabilities - and we're passionate about creating technology that can make that vision a reality.